Greek Bail-Out?

(Thumbnail image:  The Economist)

A financial crisis centered in Athens threatens to reverberate across the European Union. Of the sixteen members of the Eurozone, Greece is the deepest in debt, standing at almost 13 percent of its GDP. The Greek government says it can lower its deficit to the EU-required three percent by 2012, but many people are wondering if it's time for the European Union to step in.

We're looking at perspectives from CNBC, The Economist, The Washington Post, the BBC, and The New York Times.

CNBC's Rick Santelli does not see an E.U. intervention as a possibility for Greece unless the E.U. also helps out its other members struggling with debt.

"Think about it this way -- it's the moral hazard. We're watching it play out in Europe. The logic goes that if Greece gets any type of bailout, Portugal and others are gonna be in line. And they still believe the possibilities of helping out Greece is not off the table. So is this a self-fulfilling prophecy? Don't know."

In a guest commentary in The Economist, a former executive board member of the European Central Bank agrees, explaining that a bailout from the E.U. is not even an option.

"There must be no exception from the EU treaties’ no-bail-out clause. Once you violate this rule, the dam is broken. ... Financial help for Greece would undermine efforts in other countries to master the crisis. The Greek disease would cause contagion."

A German economic minister gives The Washington Post -- one E.U. citizen's perspective.

"'British or German taxpayers cannot finance the failures of others... Solidarity also means everybody adheres to common rules.'"

The Greek Prime Minister says he does -- not -- plan on seeking a bailout. Instead, he has outlined a debt-reduction plan that would include cutting public spending. But a former Greek finance minister tells the BBC, reducing debt is not an easy task.

"To reduce the deficit will be hard in all of our countries, and Greece will be, along with some other economies, among the first to try to do this after the crisis, but I think that despite the difficulties, the omens are good, that Greece will over the next three years reduce its deficit. It will be political and difficult, but it's not something that cannot be done."

Despite that aire of confidence, a European finance official told The New York Times -- E.U. intervention is not out of the question.

"'Greece failing is not an option, and lots of people think that we will have to intervene at some stage... It doesn’t have to happen, and we hope it won’t, but it would be better than seeing a default.'”

So, what do you think? Should Greece fix its own budget problems, or should the European Union lend a helping hand?

Writer: Brandon Twichell

Producer: Newsy Staff